Elena D'itria
Elena D’Itria received a grant from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program (Harvard University) in 2018. She obtained her PhD in Asia, African and Mediterranean Studies at the University of Naples “L’Orientale” in Italy (2017), with a thesis – entitled The Amulets of the Kerma Culture- aimed to elaborate a working typology and distribution analysis of the amulets in the Kerma culture, as the available publications are largely incomplete.
The purpose of her reserarch granted by the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program is to publish a monograph on the amulets found by G.A. Resiner and presently kept in the Museum of Fine Arts and in the Sudan National Museum. The program also includes the completion of the typological and distributive analysis of the amulets in the different sites of the Kerma culture. The diachronic and synchronic distribution of the amulets in Kerma and in Upper and Lower Nubia will be outlined and some general remarks on the religion of Kerma and its development in the framework of the historical development of the kingdom will be proposed.
An important achievement of the project will consist of the completion of the digitization of the records of the amulets excavated by G. A. Reisner and of the related database. The whole corpus of digital data produced in the course of the project, and the relational database, will be converted to allow an online publication; for some categories (subject, material, place, chronology, etc.), the value encoded in the original database will be
substituted with URI according to the Link Open-Data approach and an online GIS will be implemented.
Since 2014, she is a team member of the Italian Archaeological Expedition in Eastern Sudan.
Phone: 0039 3490634503
The purpose of her reserarch granted by the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program is to publish a monograph on the amulets found by G.A. Resiner and presently kept in the Museum of Fine Arts and in the Sudan National Museum. The program also includes the completion of the typological and distributive analysis of the amulets in the different sites of the Kerma culture. The diachronic and synchronic distribution of the amulets in Kerma and in Upper and Lower Nubia will be outlined and some general remarks on the religion of Kerma and its development in the framework of the historical development of the kingdom will be proposed.
An important achievement of the project will consist of the completion of the digitization of the records of the amulets excavated by G. A. Reisner and of the related database. The whole corpus of digital data produced in the course of the project, and the relational database, will be converted to allow an online publication; for some categories (subject, material, place, chronology, etc.), the value encoded in the original database will be
substituted with URI according to the Link Open-Data approach and an online GIS will be implemented.
Since 2014, she is a team member of the Italian Archaeological Expedition in Eastern Sudan.
Phone: 0039 3490634503
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Papers by Elena D'itria
a largely unpublished collection brought to light at the site of Kerma in Upper Nubia, Sudan, during the archaeological investigations conducted by the Harvard-Boston Expedition under the direction of G.A. Reisner between 1913 and 1916. After his excavations, Reisner considered the site of Kerma to be a Middle Kingdom Egyptian trading station, somehow related to the forts built at
that time in Lower Nubia. Investigations conducted in recent years have demonstrated that Kerma was the capital city of the powerful Nubian state named Kush in the Egyptian texts, which had a complete urban structure.
Despite playing an important role in the history of North-Eastern Africa
between the mid-3rd and the mid-2nd millennium BC, no written documents produced by the Kerma culture have been discovered. Therefore, any attempt at writing a history of the Kingdom of Kush can only rely on archaeological data.
Excavations have shown that the temples located in both the city and the cemetery of Kerma were used for religious ceremonies and rituals with the probable intention of attracting divine benevolence and would thus have ensured life on earth and in the afterlife. Unfortunately, the study of funerary monuments and religious customs has so far provided scant information on the Nubian pantheon.
The study of the Kerma amulets can, therefore, help us to obtain important information on the symbols and animals that were believed to have held a protective power. Because these objects are closely associated with religious beliefs, they can help us to understand some aspects of the Kerma religion.
Combining the results of the archaeozoological studies with the iconographies representing animals found in Kerma sites, aims to provide new insights into the nature of the religious beliefs and customs of the Kerma populations.
One of the more intriguing results of this research is that the majority of the Kerma amulets, particularly the schematic faïence amulet-beads, were of types unknown in Egypt, and very likely locally made. Some scholars have suggested that the local production of faïence in Kerma was based on the reuse of imported faïence pieces from Egypt, but on the contrary I would propose that several elements support a local production of faïence and not just the re-working of imported objects.
Moreover, among the most common amulets in the capital’s cemetery, some iconographies seem to be peculiar to Kerma production and possibly reflect local beliefs. This may be the case of the amulets representing ladders and baboons, which were locally made as shown by the fact that they are very different from the Egyptian ones. It will be shown that these types of amulet-beads may be connected with the solar cult, which was probably a crucial element of the Kerma beliefs. Noteworthy, the importance of the sun in the religion of Kerma is also confirmed by several other elements.
Talks by Elena D'itria
Ulteriore spunto di riflessione è rappresentato da un frammento di arenaria dipinto, rinvenuto nella sala settentrionale della cappella K XI, su cui sono rappresentati due personaggi che indossano un gonnellino di pelle di animale, probabilmente di leopardo, di cui si nota la coda, che li distingue nettamente da tutti gli altri individui rappresentati sulle pitture murarie a Kerma. Si tenterà di comprendere il significato dell’impiego della pelle di animale in ambito Kerma istituendo confronti sia con l’arte egiziana predinastica in cui era considerata un indumento dal grande valore simbolico, che con l’epoca dinastica durante la quale era indossata dal sacerdote sem, preposto al culto funerario. In conclusione si suggerirà che anche a Kerma la pelle di leopardo connoti un ruolo rituale. In tal caso la scena in questione potrebbe rappresentare due sacerdoti preposti al culto funerario del sovrano defunto, il cui corpo era conservato nelle cappelle, in attesa del completamento dei grandi tumuli reali.
Personal adornments in association with pottery, doubtless the most important artefact for the synchronisation of chronological research, and because of their wide occurrence, potentially represent a crucial element to date tombs and find-contexts. Despite this, beads, in contrast to the pottery, lack detailed studies: until now there has not been any technical research into methods of manufacture or composition. Moreover, the use of beads has multiple meanings: it reflects an access to the distribution of natural resources as well as many shaping technologies. Last but not least the use of beads is connected to the position within social hierarchies, especially an individual’s progression through the system of age-sets and above all, distinction of gender.
This paper will provide a detailed description of the different types of personal ornaments and will include a systematic comparison with the beads from sites located in Upper and Lower Nubia, in the Fourth Cataract and in the Eastern Sudan area. The diachronic and synchronic distribution of the beads in these different sites, combined with the study of the cemeteries and their grave goods, will allow us to elaborate a typological and chronological analysis of the associated materials and could confirm the intense contact of Upper and Lower Nubia with the Eastern Sudan between the mid-3rd and mid- 2nd millennium BC.
Drafts by Elena D'itria
a largely unpublished collection brought to light at the site of Kerma in Upper Nubia, Sudan, during the archaeological investigations conducted by the Harvard-Boston Expedition under the direction of G.A. Reisner between 1913 and 1916. After his excavations, Reisner considered the site of Kerma to be a Middle Kingdom Egyptian trading station, somehow related to the forts built at
that time in Lower Nubia. Investigations conducted in recent years have demonstrated that Kerma was the capital city of the powerful Nubian state named Kush in the Egyptian texts, which had a complete urban structure.
Despite playing an important role in the history of North-Eastern Africa
between the mid-3rd and the mid-2nd millennium BC, no written documents produced by the Kerma culture have been discovered. Therefore, any attempt at writing a history of the Kingdom of Kush can only rely on archaeological data.
Excavations have shown that the temples located in both the city and the cemetery of Kerma were used for religious ceremonies and rituals with the probable intention of attracting divine benevolence and would thus have ensured life on earth and in the afterlife. Unfortunately, the study of funerary monuments and religious customs has so far provided scant information on the Nubian pantheon.
The study of the Kerma amulets can, therefore, help us to obtain important information on the symbols and animals that were believed to have held a protective power. Because these objects are closely associated with religious beliefs, they can help us to understand some aspects of the Kerma religion.
Combining the results of the archaeozoological studies with the iconographies representing animals found in Kerma sites, aims to provide new insights into the nature of the religious beliefs and customs of the Kerma populations.
One of the more intriguing results of this research is that the majority of the Kerma amulets, particularly the schematic faïence amulet-beads, were of types unknown in Egypt, and very likely locally made. Some scholars have suggested that the local production of faïence in Kerma was based on the reuse of imported faïence pieces from Egypt, but on the contrary I would propose that several elements support a local production of faïence and not just the re-working of imported objects.
Moreover, among the most common amulets in the capital’s cemetery, some iconographies seem to be peculiar to Kerma production and possibly reflect local beliefs. This may be the case of the amulets representing ladders and baboons, which were locally made as shown by the fact that they are very different from the Egyptian ones. It will be shown that these types of amulet-beads may be connected with the solar cult, which was probably a crucial element of the Kerma beliefs. Noteworthy, the importance of the sun in the religion of Kerma is also confirmed by several other elements.
Ulteriore spunto di riflessione è rappresentato da un frammento di arenaria dipinto, rinvenuto nella sala settentrionale della cappella K XI, su cui sono rappresentati due personaggi che indossano un gonnellino di pelle di animale, probabilmente di leopardo, di cui si nota la coda, che li distingue nettamente da tutti gli altri individui rappresentati sulle pitture murarie a Kerma. Si tenterà di comprendere il significato dell’impiego della pelle di animale in ambito Kerma istituendo confronti sia con l’arte egiziana predinastica in cui era considerata un indumento dal grande valore simbolico, che con l’epoca dinastica durante la quale era indossata dal sacerdote sem, preposto al culto funerario. In conclusione si suggerirà che anche a Kerma la pelle di leopardo connoti un ruolo rituale. In tal caso la scena in questione potrebbe rappresentare due sacerdoti preposti al culto funerario del sovrano defunto, il cui corpo era conservato nelle cappelle, in attesa del completamento dei grandi tumuli reali.
Personal adornments in association with pottery, doubtless the most important artefact for the synchronisation of chronological research, and because of their wide occurrence, potentially represent a crucial element to date tombs and find-contexts. Despite this, beads, in contrast to the pottery, lack detailed studies: until now there has not been any technical research into methods of manufacture or composition. Moreover, the use of beads has multiple meanings: it reflects an access to the distribution of natural resources as well as many shaping technologies. Last but not least the use of beads is connected to the position within social hierarchies, especially an individual’s progression through the system of age-sets and above all, distinction of gender.
This paper will provide a detailed description of the different types of personal ornaments and will include a systematic comparison with the beads from sites located in Upper and Lower Nubia, in the Fourth Cataract and in the Eastern Sudan area. The diachronic and synchronic distribution of the beads in these different sites, combined with the study of the cemeteries and their grave goods, will allow us to elaborate a typological and chronological analysis of the associated materials and could confirm the intense contact of Upper and Lower Nubia with the Eastern Sudan between the mid-3rd and mid- 2nd millennium BC.